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Explanations of Common Terms

Case-based learning

Case-based learning is the study of textbook or actual cases. Students are challenged to apply theory to real-life clinical situations. At the college, case-based learning is at the center of Grand Rounds, where students observe senior and master practitioners as they treat, while reflecting on the treatment, in a clinical theater format. Further Reading: Case-Based Learning

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is analytical thinking. It is the ability to think about one's thinking, and to reason in a clear, logical way. All thinking has a purpose and a point of view, based on assumptions, leading to implications, using data and facts, while making inferences and judgments, based on theories and concepts. Critical thinking trains the thinker to recognize these structures of thought, and to seek to refine them in order to strengthen the thinking process. Further Reading: The Foundation for Critical Thinking

Cupping

Cupping is an ancient technique, used in many cultures, in which a glass or plastic cup is applied to the skin, using suction to hold it in place. Traditional cupping, sometimes referred to as “fire-cupping”, uses heat to create the vacuum-like suction. Modern practitioners sometimes use cups in which the air is suctioned out with a small pump. Cupping draws superficial fascia into a cup, which may either be left in place or moved along the body.

Gua sha

"Gua Sha is a healing technique used in Asia by practitioners of Traditional Medicine, in both the clinical setting and in homes, but little known in the West. It involves palpation and cutaneous stimulation where the skin is pressured, in strokes, by a round-edged instrument. This results in the appearance of small red petechiae called sha, that will fade in 2 to 3 days. Raising sha removes blood stagnation considered pathogenic, promoting normal circulation and metabolic processes." Citation: www.guasha.com

Health Psychology

Health Psychology is an approach to the study of mind-body interactions that starts from a salutogenic model (i.e. what keeps people healthy) rather than a pathological model (i.e. what keeps people sick), and focuses on preventing illness and promoting wellness.

Integrative Protocol

The Integrative Protocol is a framework that enables a practitioner to combine elements from different styles and traditions into a coherent, clinically effective treatment strategy. The Acupuncture Integrative Protocol developed at the college also enables students to understand the way in which any practitioner assesses and develops specific treatment strategies, thus allowing for a comparison among practitioners and between styles.

Mind-Body / Psychosomatic

Mind-Body approaches in medicine start with an understanding of the stress response, and how the way one adapts to stress effects how one experiences and lives in the world. The Mind-Body concept sees all human behavior as a complex interaction of the psyche and the body processes, with people leaning more toward experiencing the world either emotionally, or physically, or somewhere in between. While the older psychosomatic concept was often interpreted wrongly to mean that a problem was “all in the head”, the newer “mind-body” concept focuses on the constant interaction of the emotions and the workings of the human body.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a subtle process, often translated as bare attention, that requires “soft eyes”, like the peripheral vision employed while driving a car. Mindfulness focuses on the present moment, and entails non-judgmental observation. Mindfulness trains one to see things deeply, below the level of concepts and opinions, and involves awareness of events happening as they change and unfold. Video: Jon Kabat-Zinn teaching mindfulnessFurther Reading: Center for Mindfulness

Moxibustion

Moxibustion involves the heating of acupuncture points with smoldering moxa (mug wort herb). Moxibustion can be used alone or in conjunction with needles. The smoldering moxa can be placed on the end of a needle, directly on the skin, or held near the skin.

Reflective Practice

An educational approach developed by the late Donald Schon at MIT, Reflective Practice trains professionals in the art and science of their practice. Students learn to carefully observe and reflect on the practice of expert professionals as these professionals reflect-in-action while practicing their craft. The hypothesis behind such learning is that, while professional practice is dependent on special knowledge and skills, an expert knows how to experiment when faced with uncertainty or a new problem, in such a way as to bend theory and practice to arrive at a creative solution. Reflective practice values the know-how developed by experts as they amass a large repertory of possible actions that they might take in any given situation. Observation of master practitioners is a central focus of Reflective Practice. Further Reading: Reflective Acupuncture Practice

Tui na & Qi Gong

"Tui Na, literally 'pushing-grasping,' is the name commonly used to refer to Chinese medical massage. It differentiates medical massage from other Asian massage methods such as An Mo or Shiatsu. Properly employed the theories and techniques of Tui Na are extremely effective at treating a wide variety of problems, including structural misalignment, orthopedic problems and sports injuries, as well as internal diseases." Tui na training includes Qi gong practice, which is both a method of self-cultivation and a preventative, self-healing practice of Chinese medicine. Citation: www.zhenggutuina.com